Brooklyn Dodgers free essay sample

It all started at Beets Field where the Dodgers became infamous in 1 947 with the lour barrio being broken by Jackie Robinson. They suffered season after season heart breaks to the dreaded Yankees in the world series to only ultimately win Brooklyn first ever world title in 1955. The Dodgers unexpected departure in 1957 deeply devastated all of Brooklyn fans and has yet to ever forget. -Beets Field. Brooklyn, New York This historic franchise begins in the Flatfish section of Brooklyn just east of Prospect Park on Sullivan and Makeover.The Brooklyn Dodgers moved into the new home of Beets Field in the summer of 1913 on April 9th. Beets Field was more than just sworn seats and a baseball diamond; it had character Ron of its construction that its fabled residents would later enhance. Ceaselessly visionary, team owner Charlie Beets wanted a work of art for his team to play in and in several ways he succeeded. A rotunda resplendent with Italian marble, glazed brick, and a grand chandelier constructed in the shape of baseball bats and balls greeted visitors. Roman columns and arches provided the support for the grandstands. Beets field felt special inside and out. From the moment ground was first broken; Beets field was an anachronism, one that in each ensuing season would prove to be less and sees adequate. That is not to say it was not a wonderful place to watch a baseball game because it was that and much more, a glorious Globe Theater type atmosphere where the mob felt like part of the game, for its cozy dimensions and double-decked grandstands put fans almost on the field in the cramped 32,000 person stadium.Spiritually the evolution of Beets Field fell in step with the evolution of the Brooklyn baseball, franchise, which featured characters like Casey Strange and babe Herman along with classic heroes like Jack Wheat and ultimately, the boys of summer. There could be o greater emblem for the ballpark than Hilled Chester, a Brooklyn fan with a booming voice and head-ringing cowbell, who wanted nothing more than victory. By the end, B eets Field was an acquired taste for some, an annoyance for others. There was no escaping the person in the seat next to you, or the drunk a few rows down.The fans close proximity to the field, which made it possible to talk with outfielders during a pitching change and to hear voices from everywhere in the park, felt as confining as life in a brownstone with neighbors who asked too many questions. Beets field was row house street, a railroad flat, a kitchen window looking out on to a red brick wall. It was not the way people wanted to live anymore. Beets field was not built to last, and youd have to have blinders not to recognize that some sort of transition needed to be made.Compared to Brooklyn fading edifice, Wrigley Field and Fenny Park were modern mansions. Beets was a ticking clock waiting to fade away. On September 24, 1 957, the Dodgers played their last game at Beets Filed and their last game known as the Brooklyn Dodgers. Only 6,702 fans showed up to watch their beloved team take the field for one last time. Brooklyn ballpark was reborn as a 1,300-unit apartment complex called Beets Filed Apartments. -Jackie Robinson From beginning to end we root for greatness. We root for our team to do well.We root for our team to create and leave lasting memories from a dazzling defensive play o opening day to the final World Series-clinching out. In a world that can bring frustration on a daily basis we root for an investment toward bragging rights. If our team succeeds, if our guys succeed, thats something we can feel god about today, tomorrow and forever. The pinnacle of what we can root for is Jackie Robinson. Robinson is a seminal;- figure, a great player whose importance transcended his team, transcended his sport, transcended all sports.For many particularly in 1947 when he made his major league debut, Robinson was a reason to become a Dodger fan. For those who were born or made Dodger fans independent of Robinson, he is the reward for years suffering and the epitome of years of success. Robinsons story of course is only pretty when spied from certain directions, focusing from the angle of what he achieved, and that achievement represented, and the beauty and grace and power he displayed long the way. From the ugliness Of what he endured, symbolizing the most reprehensible vein of a culture, is sickening. Even after he gained relative acceptance, even after he secured his place in the major leagues and the history books, even after he could start to talk back with honesty instead of politeness, racial indignities abounded around him. Robinsons ascendancy was blow against discrimination, but far from the final one. He still played baseball in a world more successful at achieving equality on paper than in practice. For Dodger fans, there isnt a greater piece of franchise history to choice in. Jackie was a ball player. Playing nearly every position on the field over 10 seasons with an on base percentage of . 09 and slugging of . 474. He was an indispensable contributor to the Dodgers most glorious days in Brooklyn, winning 6 pennants and the franchises first World Series victory. In the end, Jackie Robinsons story might just be the greatest in the game of baseball. His highlight reel from stealing home to knocks against racism is unmatched. In a world thats all too real, Robinson encompasses everything there is to cheer for. If youre a fan of another team and you hate the Dodgers, unless you have no dignity at all, your hate stops at Robinsons feet.If your love of the Dodgers guides you home, then Robinson is your North Star. -Brooklyn First World Series Victory When the Dodgers beat their arch rivals, the New York Yankees, it was the end to the saying Wait Till next Year and the agonizing defeat the Dodgers had endured the prior years before. Brooklyn had won 4 pennants from 1947-1953 but every time fell short of the prestigious world title and fell short to the Bronx Bombers. With the start of the 1955 series no one in Brooklyn thought the Dodgers were a lock to win The World Series.In Game 1 the Yankees won 6-5 but felt in front of their 63,896 packed stadium Brooklyn anxiety. Game 2 was no different as the Yankees took a 4-2 victory and a 2-0 lead in the series. With the team reuniting back at Beets Field for game 3 the Dodgers ace, Johnny Padres, and his fastball, forestalled the potential indignity of a sweep. Game 4 was then won by the Dodgers and Duke Snipers three-run home-run seemed to be the blast that shocked the Yankees. Snipers swing followed him into game 5 where he hit two more home-runs and beat the Yankees 5-3 giving the Dodgers a 3-2 lead in the Eries.However in game 6, with the Yankees facing defeat, the Bronx Bomber rode the arm of white Ford who pitched a complete-game four- hitter. The Yankees won 5-1 and the series was all tied up leaving it to be decided in the Game 7 at Yankee Stadium. Game 7 attainted the unattainable. Here was generation of Brooklyn history in one contest. Tension, as the game was scoreless through three innings. Hope, as the Dodgers took the lead on Gill Hodges RIB single in the 4th and sacrifice fly in the 6th. But you can never count out the evil empire.The Yankees struck back in the bottom of the 6th y putting 2 runners on. Yogi Berea came up to the plate and crushed a ball down the left field line. Sandy Amorous, who entered the game that inning took Off sprinting and ran into the frame of history. With his neck tilted back and his arm fully outstretched Amorous made the catch near the left field seats and in a continuous motion pivoted off his left foot and fired the ball back to shortstop Pee-Wee Reese who relayed it to Gill Hodges to pick off Gill McDougall. It was plays like that, which created a sense that it might actually happen, a World Title.In the final inning Padres took the mound after his cigarette and got Moose Sworn out on a line drive hit to Padres. Bob Ceres fly out to Amorous gave the Dodgers 2 outs and on out away from years of misery. With Olsten Howard battling Padres, he finally grounded the ball to Pee-Wee Reese. With all of Brooklyn holding their breath Reese fired the ball to Hodges and the final out was made. The final out off the 1 955 series was recorded, and the Brooklyn Dodgers for the first time in franchise history were the Champions of the World. The 1955 season proved that the harder the journey, the sweeter the arrival. The Move out West The real story of the Dodgers move from Brooklyn to Los Angels is much more nuanced than most people realize. In 1947 Beets Filed was clearly aging, and Dodgers vice president Walter Maloney began soliciting ideas for enlarging or replacing the ballpark. In 1951, after years of research and investigation, Maloney asked to have the city help assemble land for him to purchase in Brooklyn for the building of a privately financed stadium with parking. Maloney directed his request to New York parks commissioner Robert Moses, the biggest hurdle to the Dodgers continued residence in Brooklyn.In an August 1955 letter to Maloney, Moses explained the rationale for his opposition, saying it was not in the public interest to aid the Dodgers in the quest. The only way Moses would give in is that along with a new stadium there needed to be a reasonable sensible plan for a highway, railroad terminal, traffic, street market, and relative conventional public improvements. Maloney looked at many locations in the Flatfish section of Brooklyn and primarily looked for an area with great room for parking.In a public statement, Anomaly said The public used to come to game in trolley cars, now the use automobiles. We can only park 700 cars (Beets Field). Our fans require a modern stadium- one with greater comforts, short walks, no posts, absolute protection form inclement weather, convenient rest rooms, and a self-selection first-come, first-served method of buying tickets. Maloney argued that these werent luxuries but necessities. With baseball having a heavy night schedule, its now competing with many attractions for the consumers dollar and it had better spend some money if it expects to hold its fans.Once the Dodgers won their first World Series, Maloney finally got looked at, and his vision of a dome in Brooklyn was scratching the reface. Things looked even better in April 1956 when Governor of New York, Overall Harriman raised hopes for a Brooklyn solution by signing into law the creation of the Brooklyn Sports Center Authority. But that all quickly faded when Orzo Woman became the youngest council man ever elected in Los Angels. He wrote to Major League baseball asking teams to consider moving out West. With a decade passed, and Maloney still not getting closer too new stadium in Brooklyn, Los Angels didnt look so bad. A continued snowball effect started to happen as Moses recommended that the city of Brooklyn excise the proposed stadium from the redevelopment of downtown Brooklyn. Moses did want to keep the Dodgers in Brooklyn but is idea was not in Brooklyn. Moses wanted to relocate the team to Flushing Meadows, the geographical center of Queens. Maloney said it had possibilities, but the Dodgers wouldnt be the Brooklyn Dodgers, they would be called the New York Dodgers, which did not sit well by any Brookline.Maloney looked at it as that if the Dodgers where to leave Brooklyn then Queens was no different a location then Los Angels or Dallas. Maloney wanted to keep the Dodgers in Brooklyn. A couple months followed and Maloney found himself in an open door helicopter terrified out Of his mind flying over Los Angels. Examining potential sites for a new ballpark he flew over Shaved Ravine, and his interest grew as he noticed its ample room to build and access to the freeways converging to nearby Downtown LA.With the New York Giants also closing in on a West Coast move to San Francisco it was becoming clear that the Dodgers where going to be out of New York. Maloney still favored staying in Brooklyn over any kind of move out of town, but Moses would not pull strings to make Database an available site. If its true that Maloney sought a stadium outcome that would be best for his franchise and its financial well-being, its also true that Moses stood firmly in the way of what the people of Brooklyn professed to desire.Maloney never wavered his willingness to pay for the land in Brooklyn and the stadium he would erect upon it, if only the site would be made available for purch ase. Though it was ultimately Mallets decision for the Dodgers to leave Brooklyn, Moses and other officials gave them little reason to stay. On October 8, 1 957, Maloney announced that after 68 seasons in Brooklyn, the Dodgers would be moving to Los Angels. In a move to bring baseball to all parts of the country, the Giants also decided to relocate from New York to San Francisco.The Brooklyn Dodgers played their last game at Beets Field on September 24, 1 957 and the following year, April 18, 1958, the Dodgers played their first game in Los Angels, defeating the Giants, 6-5, before 78,672 fans at the LA Coliseum. Demolition on Beets Field began on February 23, 1960 where a wrecking ball painted like a baseball fell through the visitors dug-out and crashed through millions of people hearts. Today Beets Field is a housing project with nothing left in UT a part of the exterior right field wall with Beets Field written on it.